Chicago’s highly anticipated new hotel, Hampton Inn Chicago Michigan Avenue, is officially open as of today in the heart of Downtown Chicago, situated at 68 E. Wacker Place. The hotel’s owner, Integrated Motor Club LLC, an affiliate of Murphy Asset Management (MAM), has invested substantially into the exquisite transformation of one of Chicago’s finest Art Deco buildings, the historic 1928 Chicago Motor Club Building. Located just one block south of the Chicago River, Hampton Inn Chicago Michigan Avenue’s prime location merges the business of the Loop with the high energy nightlife of Chicago’s popular River North and Streeterville neighborhoods. Crescent Hotels & Resorts, LLC of Fairfax, VA has been selected as the management company to operate the hotel.
"Returning the historic Chicago Motor Club Building to its original, exquisite form was extremely important to us,” said John T. Murphy, president of Murphy Asset Management. “The Hampton Inn Chicago Michigan Avenue is in a fantastic location and the historic significance and beauty of the building will add to the guest experience. It's unique only to this location."
Paying homage to the landmark’s contribution to the United States’ car culture, a significant amount of the renovation budget has been dedicated to preserving the 33-foot high lobby featuring a 29-foot mural of popular road destinations, designed by John Warner Norton. As one of the few remaining Art Deco lobbies in Chicago, the space includes two balconies on the mezzanine level overlooking the lobby, one of which has a 1928 Ford Model A on display as a tribute to the history of the building. Jack’s Place, a 67-seat cocktail bar is located on the first floor, making the hotel one of only a few Hampton Inn hotels nationally to have a lobby bar.
“The Chicago Motor Club building is a hallmark project, known not only for its historic presence in Chicago, but also as a treasure of 1920s Art Deco design,” states Erin Heckert, project designer at The Gettys Group responsible for the new hotel. “Throughout the conversion process, we sought to incorporate the original grandeur of this fantastic space with the functional needs of a Hampton Inn property.”
Standing 17-stories high, Hampton Inn Chicago Michigan Avenue boasts 143 guestrooms, each featuring complimentary WiFi, a 42-inch flat-screen HDTV, an ergonomic desk and a coffeemaker. The LEED Certified hotel will offer guests state-of-the-art cardio equipment in the 24-hour fitness center, a 24-hour business center, and two versatile meeting rooms with the latest A/V technology. The design team drew heavily from the historic Art Deco stylings of the original construction by preserving and restoring original design elements while incorporating streamlined forms, metallic tones, jewel hues, and rich wood textures that recapture the majesty of the building’s former occupants, The Chicago Motor Club.
Known as one of Chicago’s finest Art Deco-style skyscrapers, the former Chicago Motor Club Building was completed within 265 days in 1928. More than just a social and sporting group, the Chicago Motor Club wielded power in advocating for city improvements, including the widening of North Michigan, the installation of a public parking garage in Grant Park, and the transformation of Wacker Drive into a double-decker motorway.
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